


Mend the broken pieces

by Sgt_Bluesky



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Brian is the only sane one, Chaotic Good, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Freddie Roger and John are a chaotic trio, Humor, Idiots in Love, Multi, Polyamory, Roger wears glasses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 07:37:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21071285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sgt_Bluesky/pseuds/Sgt_Bluesky
Summary: Absentmindedly whistling out a tune, Freddie sauntered into the kitchen. He decided to surprise his other boyfriends with a cup of tea when they woke up.However on entering the kitchen, he let out a piercing screech at the sight that greeted him.Coming to stand beside his boyfriend, John froze, letting out a sharp gasp as he took in the sight before him.Grumbling to himself, Roger shuffled down the hall after John. He furiously wiped the lenses of his glasses on the edge of his t-shirt, irritated at being woken so suddenly.He pushed Freddie and John aside and put on his glasses, blinking a couple of times before he scanned the kitchen floor. Then, when he finally set eyes on what had the other two frozen on the spot, he let out an undignified squeak.In other words:When Freddie discovers something terrible in their kitchen, He, Roger and John struggle to fix it before Brian comes home.The most important thing: Brian mustn't find out.





	Mend the broken pieces

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this in the works for quite some time, and now it's finally done! This is my first attempt at writing Poly!Queen.
> 
> Just thought I'd post this between working on my current Maylor fic, it's a Stardust AU if anyone wants to check it out. (Yes, this is some shameless self promotion, I have no pride left.)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

8:30am.

Brian tucked the last of his papers into his bag, shrugging his coat onto his shoulders. He couldn’t say he was fond of 9am starts, but for the sake of his education, he’d have to deal.

As quietly as he could, Brian creaked the bedroom door open. Treading lightly towards the chair in the corner of the room, he snagged his scarf from the back and wrapped the woollen knit around his neck. It was always cold at this time of year, and this early in the morning was when it tended to be the coldest.

After picking his way back across the room, he glanced back at the bed, checking to see if he had disturbed his sleeping boyfriends.

A pair of warm brown eye met his as he stared across the room. “Early start again?” Freddie whispered.

Brian crept back over to the bed. “Yeah. Sorry, was I too loud?” He knelt down so they were both eye-level.

Freddie smiled at him. “Of course not, darling.” He nodded towards the other side of the bed. “You don’t see those two awake yet, do you?”

Brian glanced at the lump under the quilt. A few tufts of blonde and light brown hair were the only sign that Roger and John were even there. He shook his head, “no.”

Now wide awake, Freddie sat up completely. He reached out, taking a hold of Brian’s hand reassuringly. “Then you were just fine.”

Brian smiled, squeezing his hand in return. “I’ll be back around 1ish, alright?”

Freddie rubbed at his eyes. “can’t wait.”

Leaning forward, Brian planted a light kiss on his boyfriend’s head before getting back to his feet. “See you later, Fred.”

“Have a good day, darling.”

With a final look over his shoulder, Brian disappeared out the bedroom door, closing it quietly behind him.

Hearing the front door click shut, signalling Brian’s departure, Freddie slipped out of bed and pulled on his slippers.

Absentmindedly whistling out a tune, Freddie sauntered into the kitchen. He decided to surprise his other boyfriends with a cup of tea when they woke up.

However, on entering the kitchen, he let out a piercing screech at the sight that greeted him.

John’s eyes snapped open immediately at the sound of Freddie’s shout. Sitting up sharply, he turned his head to the side. There, he exchanged a shocked glance with a disgruntled looking Roger, who too had woken mere seconds ago.

Throwing the quilt to the side, he scrambled out of bed and raced to the kitchen, Roger close on his heels. Whatever could have happened? It must surely be something terrible to cause Freddie to shriek like that. Coming to stand beside his boyfriend, John froze, letting out a sharp gasp as he took in the sight before him.

Grumbling to himself, Roger shuffled down the hall after John. He furiously wiped the lenses of his glasses on the edge of his t-shirt, irritated at being woken so suddenly. “What’s the matter, Fred?” He called. If this was just Freddie being dramatic and not a life or death situation, then he would… Well he’d be seriously mad.

He pushed Freddie and John aside and put on his glasses, blinking a couple of times before he scanned the kitchen floor. Then, when he finally set eyes on what had the other two frozen on the spot, he let out an undignified squeak.

On the floor, carelessly pushed against the kitchen cabinets, was Brian’s favourite mug in at least a dozen pieces.

Now Roger understood why Freddie had been so horrified.

A wounded noise escaped John’s throat as he knelt beside the broken mug and began to collect the multiple pieces.

“Do either of you know how this happened?” Freddie managed to choke out, dragging his eyes away from the ceramic shards.

“I…” Roger was lost for words. Brian’s mug broken. Every night without fail, Brian would make his tea in that mug whilst he studied and for it to be broken…

It wasn’t good.

Now holding the broken pieces in his palms, John got to his feet. “Careful, darling.” Freddie remarked as the younger boy placed the remains of the mug on the kitchen table. He collapsed into one the wooded chairs, holding his head in his hands.

Roger stared at the rather pathetic looking pile before returning his eyes to John. “Do you know anything about this, Deaky?”

John lifted his head, looking to Roger with wide eyes. “No, I’m just as surprised as you are. But what I do know-” John gulped- “Brian’s going to kill us!”

Roger bit his lip. Wordlessly, he pulled out a chair and joined John at the table, sitting soberly. The pair looked up as Freddie began to pace back and forth.

The kitchen was silent apart for the light padding of Freddie’s footfalls. Coming to a stop in front of the table, Freddie leant one hand on the wooden surface, the other resting on his hip.

“You can be honest with me, Brian’s not here.” Freddie pointed at what was left of the mug. “Which one of you did this?” He looked between them expectantly, Waiting for an answer.

Roger did not like Freddie’s tone. “Hang on, why are you blaming us? You could just as easily be to blame!” He crossed his arms.

Freddie rolled his eyes. “because it wasn’t me!” He spoke confidently.

“Well it wasn’t me either!”

The two remained in a stalemate, before the sound of rustling fabric pulled them out of their staring match and to the third occupant of the room.

Two pairs of eyes fell upon John who was beginning to look suspiciously guilty. “You’re being awfully quiet over there, Deaky. Got something to hide?” Roger said quizzically.

John raised his head. “I’m not the one who broke it…” he began cautiously, shifting uncomfortably.

“I’m sensing a ‘but’ here, darling.” Freddie gestured for him to continue.

“Well, I mean… I don’t think I did it!” John fiddled with the hem of his t-shirt, looking down. “But I was the one who put the drying up away last night.” He held up his hands, wincing under their accusatory gaze. “I don’t remember anything breaking though!”

Roger jumped to his feet, “alright then, mystery solved!” He nodded at John smugly. “You can tell Brian when he gets back. I’m going back to bed.”

Freddie grabbed the neck of Roger’s t-shirt as he passed, pulling him away from the door and back towards the table. “Not so fast, Blondie!” He pulled the vacant chair out further, “sit!”

Roger rolled his eyes and returned to his seat. “What? We’ve established it was John, what else is there to do?” All he wanted was to get back under the warm covers and get an extra hour or two. He could almost feel the softness of his pillow.

Moving around the table, Freddie placed a comforting hand on John’s shoulder. “John says he doesn’t remember breaking anything, and I believe him.”

John beamed at Freddie before turning back to Roger and shooting him a triumphant look. He crossed his arms, “if you even think of pinning this on me, I’m telling Brian it was all you.” He smirked, Brian would probably believe him, knowing how volatile Roger was.

He then remembered what drew them to the kitchen earlier that morning. “And anyway, Freddie was the first one in the kitchen this morning!”

Freddie gasped in betrayal. He snatched his hand back. “Hey! I stuck up for you! And if I broke it today, you two would have heard it.” He raised an eyebrow, “I say it was Roger.”

“Me?!?!”

Freddie shrugged. “Well you do have a track record, dear.”

Roger almost regretted all the times he had thrown their plates at the wall in a rage. Almost.

He laughed dismissively. “What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?” He fell silent as the other two stared at him, waiting for an answer. “I wouldn’t do this!” He protested. “Not to Brian’s mug. We all know it’s off limits.”

Freddie hummed thoughtfully. He moved back to the opposite side of the table, placing his hands on the flat surface. “So, what we know: Brian’s mug is broken and one of us broke it.” He looked between the other two.

John nodded vigorously. “Yep.”

“Who exactly, we don’t know.”

“Yeah…” Roger wasn’t quite sure where he was heading with this.

Freddie studied his nails. “The vintage NASA mug he found on a whim in that charity shop one time-“

“Alright, Fred!” Roger couldn’t stand it anymore. “We get it.” He felt the burn of guilt rising in his chest.

Cocking his head, John narrowed his eyes. “Your point?”

“Well… “ Freddie smirked, a mischievous glint in his eye. “We’ll simply have to make it look like it never broke in the first place.”

John leaned forward across the table, his chin resting on his palm. “Are you saying we shouldn’t even tell Brian?”

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting, darling.”

Roger’s face broke into a grin. “Sneaky. I’m down.”

Of course Roger wouldn’t take much persuasion. Freddie smiled back, pleased. “I knew you would be.”

There was only one person left to be convinced. Freddie and Roger set their gaze on John.

“Deaky?”

John let out an exasperated breath. “Fine!” He had no idea why he was agreeing to this. It was inevitable that they would get caught, but what the hell.

Freddie rubbed his hands together. “Excellent.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “We have just under four hours until Brian gets back.”

When no one moved, he clapped abruptly. “Chop, chop!” John and Roger jumped, hopping to their feet. “We haven’t got a moment to lose.”

Freddie loved it when his plans fell into place. As long as each of them did their part, there was no way they could possibly fail.

Brian was never going to find out.

\--------------------

John groaned. Brian was so going to find out.

He was practically tearing his hair out. The patchwork job he had made of the pieces had random gaps between them, and there were still a few left that he just couldn’t figure out where they fitted. It looked nothing like the mug it used to be.

John sighed, resting his head against the table in despair. He had spent about an hour gluing the mug back together and it looked like shit. And he ended up super-gluing his thumb and forefinger together. It had taken him fifteen minutes alone to separate them. Talk about a disaster.

He only hoped that Freddie and Roger would have found a better solution to their little problem. They had both left shortly after their conversation this morning, looking for mug replacements whilst John thought he could salvage what was left of the broken pieces.

If the three of them succeeded with Brian being none the wiser, well it would be nothing short of a miracle!

The sound a key in the front door made him look up. Freddie or Roger must be back. Perhaps one of them had been more successful.

Into the kitchen strolled Freddie, carrying a plastic bag on his arm. He stopped, taking in the mess John had made. “What on earth has been going on in here?”

“I think it’s pretty obvious, Fred.” John said through gritted teeth.

Freddie’s lip twitched, then he pulled a straight face as John shot him a sharp look. “Well, at least you tried your best.”

“You can say that again. Look at this!” He thrust out his hand, displaying the flaky superglue on his fingers.

This time Freddie couldn’t hold in the snort of laughter. “Oh, darling!” He patted John’s hand. “Don’t worry, I have the solution to our problem!”

John looked at him miserably. “Really?”

Freddie filled a cup with water, then took a seat beside him. “Just leave it to me.” He pulled a plain white mug from the bag, along with a small pack of pottery paints and some brushes.

John raised an eyebrow. “Painting?”

“May as well put my degree to good use!” Freddie wet one of the brushes then dipped it into the paints. “When I’m done Brian won’t even be able to tell the difference!”

“…Right.” John got to his feet, carrying the franken-mug to the counter, giving it time to dry.

Leaving Freddie to his artwork, John made a start on organising his own uni work. However, with his mind wandering back to the mug mission, he returned to the kitchen after only half an hour.

John busied himself making cups of tea. “Any luck?” He asked casually, looking back at the table where Freddie was working.

“hmm…” Applying one last coat, Freddie dropped the paintbrush into the cup of water. “What do you think?” He turned the mug around, displaying his handiwork.

John squinted at it. At a stretch, it looked somewhat similar, but with a homemade element to it. Kind of like a mug you’d by from some arts and crafts fair. “Oh. It’s alright, actually.”

Picking up the mug by its handle, Freddie inspected the design before sighing and looking over to John defeatedly. “But nothing like the original, am I right?”

John passed him a cup of tea. “Yeah, Brian’s definitely going to know.”

Freddie set down his artwork, taking a sip from his tea. “I really thought I had this!” He placed the mug back on the table with more force than necessary.

John moved over to the counter and began to examine his patchwork job. It was dry, but still holey. He glanced over his shoulder, “well, Rog will be back soon. I’m sure he’ll have something.” He carried the franken-mug over to the table, setting it beside Freddie’s.

Freddie grimaced. “We can hope.” If it was Roger they were relying on, well, they were fucked. But perhaps the blond would surprise them both.

As John sat down beside him, tea in hand, Freddie leaned his head on the brunet’s shoulder and closed his eyes. John hummed absentmindedly, stroking his long fingers over Freddie’s arm.

About 5 minutes later, tuneless whistling alerted them of Roger’s presence. “Morning, lads.” He greeted, sauntering into the kitchen confidently.

Freddie lifted his head off John’s shoulder, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. “Anything?” He asked eagerly.

Roger smirked, pulling another white mug from his bag, not dissimilar from Freddie’s. He set it down on the table proudly next to John and Freddie’s creations.

It was mostly plain except for the roughly drawn circle that was supposed to be the NASA logo. Except the circle resembled more of a swirl if anything. And it was written with black sharpie, not a colour in sight.

Both John and Freddie gaped at it in shock. Was he serious?

Finally, Freddie spoke. “What the fuck is that?” He demanded.

“Er, a mug?” Roger slung the strap of his bag off his shoulder, letting it drop to the floor beside one of the table legs.

John wiped at the marker with his fingertip, examining it to see if any had transferred. None. At least he had put in enough effort to use a permanent marker. He looked up at Roger. “You know that this looks nothing like the original,” he said slowly.

“No shit.” Roger pulled out a chair, reclining back carelessly. “Brian’s going to find out anyway. So, I got him a replacement.” He nodded at the mug proudly, “I wrote the words myself.”

Freddie glared at the rushed capitals scrawled in black. “I can see that.”

“Hey!” Roger defended his handiwork. “I tried really hard with that!” In actual fact, it had taken him ten minutes all together to find a cheap white mug and hastily imitate the NASA logo with sharpie. Then he had spent the rest of the morning in their local coffee shop, but Freddie and John didn’t need to know that.

John pinched the bridge of his nose. “The letters don’t even fit in the circle, Roger!”

Roger shrugged noncommittedly. “Nobody’s perfect.”

“The whole point of this-“ Freddie jabbed at the row of mugs with his thumb- “was for Brian not to know!”

“Not to know what?”

They all gasped, heads whipping around to see Brian stood in the doorway. His coat unzipped; however, his long scarf was still wrapped around his neck and his bag hanging from his shoulder. He’d clearly just got back.

“Brian!” Freddie tried to hide their panic by greeting him cheerfully, whilst Roger shiftily moved his arm in front of the row of mugs. “You’re back early!”

John covered his face with hand. They were so busted. Still, it would be entertaining to see how Freddie would attempt to cover this up.

Brian took another step into the room, suspicion evident on his face. “Tutoring got cancelled, so I came back.” He crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe. “Anyone going to tell me what I shouldn’t be knowing?”

Surprisingly, Roger played along, acting dumb. “Know? There’s nothing to know here.” He blinked at Brian innocently.

“Oh yeah?” Brian raised a knowing eyebrow.

Roger nodded, “yeah.”

Brian sighed, walking to the table and pushing Roger’s arm away. He gestured to the array of pottery on the tabletop. “Then what’s all this?”

The other three froze before chaos erupted.

Both Roger and John rushed to speak, resulting in them talking over one another.

“Your mug-“

“It was John!”

John whirled on Roger. “No it wasn’t!”

Freddie shook his head, laughing nervously whist the younger two bickered back and forth. “What the children are trying to say is that your mug-“

“It’s broken,” Brian interrupted. “I know. I broke it.”

Freddie was lost for words. After opening and closing his mouth a few times, he managed a simple “what?”

Brian sighed. “Yeah, I dropped it this morning.” He shook his head. “I’m surprised none of you heard it actually.”

Turning away from John, Roger stared dumb-founded at him. “You- you broke it?” He had to have misheard. Brian, ever so careful, always took care of this things Brian, smashed his own mug?

A deject look crossed Brian’s face. “Yeah, I did." He pulled out the only unoccupied chair, slumping into his seat. “I really loved that mug.” Shaking his head, he looked between Freddie, Roger and John. “So, you three have spent the morning doing what exactly?”

Raking a hand through his hair, Roger began to explain. “You see, we thought one us had done it, but none of us knew which. So we tried to replace it without you knowing. Well, in Deaky’s case, put it back together again.”

Brian nodded, looking from the patchwork mug to the two new ones. “I see.” Then his composed mask cracked as he broke down into laughter. “I can’t believe you all went to such lengths just for a mug!”

Roger looked over to Freddie and John, puzzled. Had he gone mad?

Calming down a little, Brian picked up one of the remaining shards that John hadn’t glued together, shaking his head as he turned it over in his palm. “Well actually, I can believe it.” 

John looked up sheepishly. “We thought you’d be upset.”

Brian shrugged. “I was, at first. But it was my own fault and at the end of the day, it’s just a mug.”

Freddie finally found his words again. “But you loved that mug. It’s one of a kind!”

“That’s true. But now?” Brian spread out his hands, gesturing to the mismatched row on the table. “I Have three new ones. I can’t buy these in a shop, can I?”

John snorted, eyeing up Roger’s monstrosity. “I suppose not.”

A beat passed, all of them regarding the ragtag group of crockery. Then, all the tension seemed to drain from the room as they all began to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.

Wiping away a tear, Freddie sucked in a breath. “I can’t believe we were so worked up about this!”

“I know!” Roger gasped out. “It seems so stupid now.”

“You’re telling me!” John shook his head amusedly.

“There’s only one thing left to sort, though.” All eyes fell upon Brian who was looking down at the mugs before him. He looked up, a playful smile tugging at his lips. “Which of these do I use first?”


End file.
